Happy Birthday, Sailor. You have reached a milestone in your life on your first birthday. We thought back in February that you'd never achieve this, but through prayers and wonderful veterinary care, you are here with us and you're a much more energetic pup than a month ago.
We are blessed to have you with us, even though you still suffer from the repercussions of SRMA. Yesterday you went to the groomer, which brought you back to us as a sweet smelling, freshly clipped and groomed puppy, with no problems from your foot pad growth from the grooming.
Here is a photo of Sailor on her birthday - she's looking better and maybe has even lost a few pounds.

Next we embark on the next phase of stepping down the steroids. From 4 mg. once a day, we will go to 4 mg. every other day. I am very nervous about this, but am hoping for the best. The supplements and B-12 shots will continue as usual. I'll update after she's been on this regimen for a few days.

Sailor has been back on a higher dose of steroids for 5 days now. I don't seem to see any difference in her behavior. At first I felt as though she were a bit more lethargic, but have decided that isn't the case. The infection on her skin growth seems to be healing, and it hasn't bled for two days. Of course, when we take her outside, she has to have a boot on her left foot. Getting that on is a real chore, and it really isn't an ideal fit. Because she still drags her feet, the boot makes her stumble more, so I keep a firm grip on her harness to try and hold her up when she trips.

Since her SRMA she has not worn a collar, but a Sporn harness. It is much easier to put on than a regular harness. It's supposed to be a "stops pulling" harness, but it never stopped Sailor. She doesn't pull much anymore - only when she sees one of her "friends" and can't wait to get to them to get some extra love. Sailor is much more interested in the people holding the leash rather than the dogs they are walking. She will acknowledge the dog, but then goes right to the person to get her pats and scratches. She was lucky today - she got to see two of her favorite people and was rewarded with lots of love. Both of them remarked that she seems much more energetic than previously. Since we see her every day, we don't notice the improvement as much, so it's good to have others notice.

Here's a photo of Sailor showing off her new footwear.

This is day 12 of the new regimen, and Sailor continues to tolerate the reduction of the steroids well. There are even some glimpses of the puppy she once was as she actually wants to play with her squeaky toys. Her ravenous appetite continues unabated though we have cut out the treats (mostly except pill time) and the table food. She loves those unsalted green beans, though, and I'll bet she'd eat as many cans as I would open.  Her hair loss is obvious especially on her elbows and her stomach. She also has changes in the texture of her hair - all of this attributable to the steroids.

Unfortunately, I had to take Sailor back to the vet yesterday. She has a growth on her left forefoot (I thought it was a sore). The vet did a needle biopsy and determined it was a harmless growth and should go away within 3 months. However, it had started to bleed and had become infected - another unfortunate result of her compromised immune system. Now when she goes outside she has to wear protection on her foot to keep her from traumatizing it. The vet thought she was chewing on it, but she never has. The trauma is from walking on the pavement because she drags her feet. Also, one of her eyes is looking a little red. I'm hoping it is just a little irritation and not another eye infection. In any case, she is back on an antibiotic, which she takes twice a day with a full tummy. This presents a problem as she normally eats in the morning and at 5:30 in the afternoon. So, I am giving her a half a can of green beans at 8:00 at night before she gets her second antibiotic. I'm trying to avoid an upset digestive system.

Sometimes I get discouraged because she seems better and then something else will pop up, but I am still so thankful she is still with us.

So, this is day 9 of the new regimen, and so far so good. I will say that Sailor still has major stability issues, but her energy level is so much better. I attribute this to a number of things - first is the regimen to give her the steroids in the morning and hold off on the nightly dosage which gives her adrenal glands a break. Secondly, she is getting a huge dose of L-Carnitine which is an energy booster and a fat metabolizer. Third, she has a B-12 shot once a week. She is so much better in the morning because I guess the steroid isn't suppressing her energy. She gets progressively slower as the day progresses. We had family here this week, and she (the dog who loves everyone) was so happy with my grandchildren. My eldest granddaughter had her "speaking" to the song "If you're happy and you know it, then you 'speak'". Sailor loved it and the reward of carrots was an extra special treat. Our breeder who offered a one year guarantee against genetic defects and quality of life issue has been true to his word, and we expect a refund of our purchase price. This is a wonderful financial bonus for us, though it is through no fault of his own. He has impeccable standards when it comes to breeding, but Sailor's unfortunate disease is like a roll of the dice. My advice to all of you with a new puppy is get health insurance - a small price to pay - and you may not have a breeder who is as exceptional as ours.

Day 4 of the new regimen. So far, so good, but when we tried to reduce the dosage before, she had three good days before the stumbling started again. Hopefully, the supplements and the B-12 shots will help this time. Or it could be that skipping the second dose at night instead of dividing the steroids into two equal doses 12 hours apart has helped.  It is such a random chance that Sailor developed this. She does seem to be a bit more energetic - maybe the B-12 or the huge dose of L-Carnitine (2500 mg. twice a day). We have cut out her treats (for the most part) and my husband has been pretty cooperative about not feeding her from the table. The neurologist said that she had also developed Cushing's disease, which deposits fat around her stomach. Just another bad side effect from the steroids. In the four weeks prior to our visit, she had gained 6 pounds and now weighs a whopping 54 pounds. She weighed about 42 pounds when she first got sick and when we brought her home from her hospital stay, she was just skin and bones. Now her treats are baby carrots and unsalted green beans make up the bulk of her evening meal. The L-Carnitine is supposed to help metabolize fat, so maybe she is losing a little weight.